Volkswagen: via Piech, patriarch loses battle summits – ANSA.it

ROME – At the end of the patriarch not won the day and had to leave the field to its (former) dolphin. Ferdinand Piech, chairman of the supervisory board of Volkswagen Group, has resigned after a clash at the white heat of the last days with at Martin Winterkorn. Innovator, volcanic and unscrupulous, 12 (or 13) children from four different wives, the 78 year-old Piech is widely considered the savior and supporter of the success of these years of Volkswagen, whose leadership came in 1993 when the group was in the red and that he then taken to undermine Japan’s Toyota as world’s largest producer. Grandson of the legendary Ferdinand Porsch, inventor of the ‘Beetle’, Piech took its first steps in the family, then move to the Audi, which launches the all-wheel drive Quattro and became president at the end of the 80s. When switched to Volkswagen transforms ‘the people’s car’, commissioned by Hitler to power the German workers as Ford had done in the United States, in a global group with a portfolio of prestigious brands such as Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti and Ducati. Only Alfa Romeo, has long coveted, eludes him several times. The CEO of Fiat Marchionne in 2012 refers to the sender using the latter approach also Piedmontese dialect: “Monsu ‘Piech, lax loses, goes cante’ ‘nt n’autra cort’ ‘.

But the ‘Alfa is just a stone missing in a crown rich. A great and decisive battle the manager had won in 2008 against the other branch of the family who was trying to climb the Porsche to Volkswagen. He finished with the house almost on sports’ edge of failure that came then to be part of the group of Wolgsburg (although technically the acquisition was a takeover of the small on large) and Piech even launched. But the race of the great ‘old’ has stalled in recent days. For open hostilities was him saying on April 10 in Spiegel to be “distant” from Winterkon who also had supported in the past few years. But this time Piech was alone. The family Porsch (which together with the chairman of the supervisory board holds 53% of the shares) had described his words as a “personal position not agreed”. Also, the government of Lower Saxony, which has a 20% stake in VW, has expressed support for Winterkorn unreservedly, and similar signals were received from the trade unions (which by tradition have seats on the board) and the sovereign fund of Qatar , a member of the group.

Even signals and conciliatory words joined in the following days (but also a face to face in the residence of Piech Salzburg) have helped to improve the climate for the shareholders of 5 May. The conclusion came as well with a dry statement. Via with immediate effect and off the board the last wife Ursula. A Piech takes over the vice president Berthold Huber which also is the representative of the powerful metalworkers’ union IG Metall.

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